Category Archives: Events and News

Events and News

Symposium: Human Rights Archives and Documentation: Transforming Ideas into Practice

Posted on by

The Thomas J. Dodd Research Center and the Human Rights Institute at the University of Connecticut would like to invite you to join us for a symposium, “Human Rights Archives and Documentation:  Transforming Ideas into Practice.”

The Center for Research Libraries Global Resources Network and the Center for Human Rights Documentation at Columbia University Libraries are co-sponsoring the event.  This one and a half day symposium will bring together archivists, librarians, and human rights scholars together to address specific needs and unique issues in human rights documentation and to create strategies for the future.  The keynote address for the symposium will be the Honorable Patricia Wald, who served on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.  The second day of the program will consist of working group sessions to share information and address issues specific to human rights documentation.  Trudy Huskamp Peterson, expert on preserving the records of Truth Commissions, and former Acting Archivist of the United States, will be our special guest.  Further information, a detailed schedule, and registration materials are available on our website:  http://www.lib.uconn.edu/online/research/speclib/ASC/events/human_rights_symposium.htmThe symposium will take place at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut, on Monday March 3, and Tuesday, March 4, 2008.  The event is free and open to anyone working with or interested in human rights collections, though there are a limited number of spaces available.   The deadline for registration is Friday, February 15.   

Focus the Nation Events!

Posted on by

Thank you for your patience during the January lull.  Now that the semester is in full gear, I will be posting more frequently.  Look for updates on new books in the library, and upcoming events on campus dealing with human rights themes!

During the last week of January 2008, the University of Connecticut will join more than 1,450 colleges, universities, and K-12 schools as participants in Focus The Nation, a national climate change awareness and education event.

Events will be held at all of the UConn campuses, including the law school and health center, and will include a free showing of the new environmental documentary “The 11th Hour,” a free showing of “The 2% Solution,” and a faculty panel discussion on UConn’s role in addressing climate change.  

There will also be a teach-in taking place throughout the day on January 30th and 31st in which professors from over 20 different departments will facilitate discussions about climate change within the context of their respective disciplines.  

For more details and a complete schedule of events, please visit: www.ecohusky.uconn.edu/focusthenation.htm

60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Posted on by

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour marks Human Rights Day 2007 and launches a year-long campaign leading to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

10 December 2007 — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, issued the following statement to mark Human Rights Day which is commemorated on 10 December.

As we jointly celebrate today not only Human Rights Day but also launch the year-long campaign leading to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we have cause to celebrate the accomplishments made, since 1948, on the road to ensuring fundamental freedoms for each one of us.

The Universal Declaration and its core values- inherent human dignity, justice, non-discrimination, equality, fairness and universality- apply to everyone, everywhere, always.

In all parts of the world, individuals, groups, organisations, and Governments have striven to transform into reality the promises contained in the Universal Declaration. Many have died in the pursuit of these ideals.

Today is also the day to reflect upon our individual and collective failures to stand up against violence, racism, xenophobia, torture, repression of unpopular views and injustices of all sorts.

In today’s growing divisions between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the vulnerable, the technologically advanced and the illiterate, the aggressors and the victims, the relevance of the Declaration and the universality of the enshrined rights need to be loudly reaffirmed.

In the course of this year, unprecedented efforts must be made to ensure that every person in the world can rely on just laws for his or her protection. In advancing all human rights for all, we will move towards the greatest fulfilment of human potential, a promise which is at the heart of the Universal Declaration.

(United Nations Press Release)

Christopher Gunness Lecture and “Pentecost” Performance

Posted on by

Christopher Gunness, spokesperson for the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, will lecture on “Chaos, Refugees, and Gaza Today” on Thursday, December 6 at 4 p.m. at Jorgensen Gallery, prior to a 7:30  p.m. performance of the play, Pentecost.  Pentecost, written by Tony Award-winning playwright David Edgar  is being performed November 29 through December 7 at Jorgensen.   A brief synopsis of the play is below:

Tony Award-winning playwright David Edgar’s (Nicholas Nickleby) epic play Pentecost  is one part artistic whodunit and one part hostage thriller.  The authenticity of a newly-discovered painting, found in an Eastern European church, presents a tantalizing puzzle that could permanently alter our concepts of art.  Cultures clash in the debate among a curator, art historian, church official and even tourists who are then suddenly taken hostage by a group of asylum-seeking refugees from a variety of world trouble spots.  David Edgar’s extraordinary language is often compared to Bernard Shaw’s in this incendiary collision between art and politics that New York Times critic Alvin Klein said, “sets the brain spinning in the highest gear; there’s no controlling where wonderment will fly or land.” Contains adult sexual content and male nudity.

Gunness is a former BBC News reporter and served as UN spokesman in Sarajevo during the Balkan Wars. He will speak on chaos, refugees, and US foreign policy in today’s Gaza.  His talk will be followed by a reception. 

 The lecture is free and open to the public.  Tickets for the performance of Pentecost are $16.50- $28.  Tickets and information are available at the Jorgensen box office. 

The lecture and performances are sponsored by the Foundations of Humanitarianism program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Human Rights Institute, and the Humanities Institute.

Candlelight Vigil and Concert for Burma, Tuesday November 13, 2007

Posted on by

Tonight, 6:00pm at Hillel, the UConn chapter of Amnesty International will be hosting a candlelit vigil for the victims of Burma. All are encouraged to come show support and learn more about the issue. There will be a donation bin for “Dolls for Refugee Children” in Burma.

Following the vigil, Insense will be putting on a concert (7:00pm at Hillel) in an effort to “wage musical war against the military junta that continues to oppress new pro-democracy protest in Myanmar (formerly Burma)”. The bands include:

-My Heart to Joy
-The Gracies
-The Purse Snatchers
-Joseph Stalin and the Island Dreamers

Between sets, activists will be sharing poetry and facts to raise awareness on the atrocities occurring in Burma and what you can do to help. The COST for the concert is $5.00 or a non-perishable food item. All proceeds from the concert go to the Covenent Soup Kitchen in Willimantic.

For more info, visit the facebook event page for Hungry for Democracy (a.k.a. Burma-Stock): http://uconn.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5908154301

“The Exonerated,” Film Screening Tonight

Posted on by

Human Rights Film Series 2007-2008

A Cinematic Exploration through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Film Title: “The Exonerated”

November 13, 2007 – 6pm, Konover Auditorium, Dodd Research Center

Film Description:

Sixteen years. Imagine everything you could do with sixteen years.

Imagine everything you did the last sixteen years.

Now take it all away.

Sunny Jacobs was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime she did not commit. Sixteen years was just the beginning of what was taken from Sunny Jacobs.

Twenty-nine Academy Award nominations, eighty-seven Golden Globe nominations, one hundred and twelve EMMY nominations: such is the incredible array of actors who have lent their considerable talents and passion to The Exonerated. As a play, awarded the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards, it was acclaimed in major cities across America.

Now as a film, the undeniable power of the true stories of six exonerated survivors of death row will engage your emotion, incite your passion, and envelop you in their search for the lost small pieces of dignity and the lives so unceremoniously interrupted.

True stories in their own words. Stories you will never forget.

The event is free and open to the public.

Role of Leadership in Promotion of Human Rights in Africa: Future Prospects and Obstacles

Posted on by

Role of Leadership in Promotion of Human Rights in Africa: Future Prospects and Obstacles

The UNESCO Chair & Institute of Comparative Human Rights invites you to a public lecture by His Excellency António Mascarenhas Monteiro, former President of the Republic of Cape Verde on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 12:30 p.m. in the Student Union Room 304 A/B. 

As the first multi-party elected President of the Republic of Cape Verde, His Excellency played a crucial role in making Cape Verde one of the more viable democracies on the continent of Africa. He served as President from 1991-2001 and during his term in office, was active in the international arena as well. He was Chairman of the Third Conference on Regional System of Human Rights Protection in Africa and Europe and participated in the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Goodwill mission to Angola following the country’s first free elections in 1992.

In 1993, he was Chairman of the Colloquium on Constitutional Transition in Africa, held at the Catholic University of Louvain, and from 1994 to 1997 he served as President of the Inter-State Committee for Struggle Against Drought in Sahel (CILSS). In his role as Deputy President of the OAU Ad-Hoc Committee for Southern Africa, he attended the signing of the Lusaka Protocol on Peace in Angola in 1994. He was elected President of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) in 1998.

Lecture is co-sponsored by the African American Cultural Center.

For more information, please call 486.0647 or visit www.unescochair.uconn.edu

“Living Wage, Fair Labor Practices and Eco Sustainability” and other Human Rights Events

Posted on by

Human Rights Events at UConn, November 8, 2007 through November 11, 2007

“Living Wage, Fair Labor Practices and Eco Sustainability” 

November 8, 2007 at 4 PM

The President’s Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility, CIBER (Center for International Business and Education Research) and the Human Rights Institute are proud to sponsor an International Education Week lecture, “Living Wage, Fair Labor Practices and Eco Sustainability” on Thursday, November 8, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre.

Ruth Rosenbaum, UConn Faculty and Executive Director of CREA (Center for Reflection, Education and Action) will discuss the concepts of Living Wage, Fair Labor Practices and Eco Sustainability and how they relate with a response by Professor Subhash C. Jain, Director of CIBER at the School of Business. Please go to http://web.uconn.edu/sweatshop/ for additional details.  

Also occurring today: 

“Racism: A Domestic Human Rights Crisis”

A discussion on Racism and White Privilege in the United States led by Chris Doucot, of the Hartford Catholic Worker House.  Thursday, November 8 at 7:00 pm, Arjona 143

Sponsors: Neag School of Education, Student Activities, and Community Outreach 

And, the Mead Lecture is today as well– see the previous post for details.

Coming up on Saturday

The Asian American Cultural Center presents the 2nd Annual IMPAACT Conference(Identifying the Missing Power of Asian Americans in CT)

IMPAACT 2007:  Hate is Real, Realize Hate, Speak Out Against Hate Crimes

Saturday, November 10, 2007 – Registration 9 am – Student Union Lobby

University of Connecticut, Storrs Campus Student Union

Registration on conference day, $30   

 

And…

Tuesday, November 13 at 6 PM is the next Human Rights Film—The Exonerated.  Details to follow next week…

Mead Lecture: “When Numbers Count: The Practice of Combating Human Trafficking from Colombia to Japan”

Posted on by

Kay Warren, Distinguished professor of anthropology at Brown University will present the Robert G. Mead, Jr. lecture entitled, “When Numbers Count: The Practice of Combating Human Trafficking from Colombia to Japan.”

The Mead Lecture is sponsored by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.  The Mead lecture will be held at the Student Union Theater, 2110 Hillside Rd, on Thursday, November 8 at 2 PM, and will also be broadcast on Husky Vision.

For more information, please contact CLACS at 486-4964 or latinamerica@uconn.edu.

Human Rights Events on Monday, November 5, 2007

Posted on by

 St. Thomas Aquinas, The Roman Catholic Center at UConn presents: “What is really going on in Palestine and what is the U.S. role: Eyewitness accounts from the Connecticut-based Middle East Crisis Committee”  Speakers are Stanley Heller and Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh. 

Monday, November 5, 2007 @7:30 p.m.

The Aquinas Center at UConn

46 N. Eagleville Rd, Storrs, CT

Also, the Tunnel of Oppression will be beginning on Monday as well and continuing through Tuesday November 6.

The Tunnel of Oppression is a series of rooms designed to advance and disseminate knowledge about issues of oppression and encourage participants to reflect upon the questions raised by hatred and ignorance. This program illustrates the struggles of others while looking at current egregious acts that occur in our nation and around the world. Participants in the program are led on a guided tour through eight “rooms of oppression” and then participate in a short, facilitated debriefing/processing of their experience.

Individual Rooms will be focused on the following issues:

* Racism * Domestic Violence/ Sexual Assault * STDs * Substance Abuse * Homophobia/Transphobia * Disordered Eating  * Depression/Suicide * Broken Systems

The program will occur on the following dates and times

Tuesday November 6th from 1:00-6:00 Rooms 304A, B, C of the Student Union

Wednesday November 7th from 10:00-2:00 Rooms 304A, B, C of the Student Union.  Groups of 8-10 participates will be guided through the experience every ten minutes starting at the top of each hour.